


Sunlight

by UNseated4TH



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brook and the others are kinda there too but not enough that I'd tag them, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of water 7, One Piece: Stampede, Self-Worth Issues, a shoddy understanding of observation haki, how's this the first stampede usolu fic did yall see that movie they love each other, mostly intended to be platonic but if you wanna read as ship go ahead ur so fkin valid, this is my first op fic in literal years soooo yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27669689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UNseated4TH/pseuds/UNseated4TH
Summary: During/post-Stampede.“Even without those huge plants, there’s not many people out there who could do what you did and still think they’re useless. It would be impressive, if it were a good thing.”.On a desolate and burning wasteland, Usopp fights to keep his captain alive..After the events of Stampede, Luffy and Usopp talk.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Usopp
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	Sunlight

_Luffy._

Usopp breathes.

The air is burnt. The earth, scorched. An acrid sting of smoke fills his lungs and he coughs, a convulsion that wreaks his entire frame. Everything aches with some form of hurt, a dull throbbing from deep in his bones, sharp searing over the surface of his skin. Blood and bile ebb at his tastebuds and his head feels as though it’s been split in two and messily stitched back together. His chest heaves for breath under what feels like a half-tonne of bricks.

He blinks. It hurts. One of his eyes has been swollen shut. _Not great for sniping_ the thought crosses only subconsciously, lucky for him he doesn’t need to depend entirely on sight to fire his shots anymore... _Not that_ that _was of any use,_ his thoughts are louder. What use is any attack if the most he can do is take the tip of one of his enemy’s fingers. But no. That’s not important now.

_Luffy…_

He blinks again. It’s too damn bright. His head hurts. He scrunches his good eye shut and then opens it again, slowly this time. A scene befitting of the carnage to which every other sense has been alerting him unfolds like a natural disaster. He pushes himself up into a sitting position, but even moving makes him want to—he turns over and is sick.

Usopp coughs again, pushes himself to his feet, and forces himself to move (realising only now that he’s lost a shoe – _damn this was one of my favourite pairs—_ but – _that doesn’t matter, I need to find Luffy_ ), tumbling over the upturned soil of the near-deserted battlefield. He scans the destruction with his good eye, searching for any movement, for any indication of his captain. He then shuts his eye and _feels_.

Luffy is out here somewhere. That much, he can sense. He moves closer to where that glowing, stubborn presence softly pulses.

It feels as though forever has passed and his search becomes more frantic—when he spots him. Luffy lays a little ways away, a puddle of blood forming around his unmoving body. Usopp forgets his own aching and fatigue and ambles over to his captain, falling to his knees as he reaches his side.

“H-hey,” he urges, shaking hands lifting Luffy’s upper half off the ground and swivelling him into a sitting position. His eyes are starting to sting. “What’re you playing at, Luffy? This look doesn’t suit you.” His arms, trembling as they are, cradle his captain close. “I…”

The fight against Bullet has partially reopened the wound Luffy sustained at Marineford. _You weren’t there for him_ then _either,_ Usopp’s thoughts heckle idly from somewhere deep within. He ignores them. Helpful or not…

“I’m here now. You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna get some help.”

He fumbles as he loops an arm around Luffy’s shoulders, hooks another under his knees and stands, attempting to carry him in a way that would bring least irritation to his injuries. But as he soon finds, he doesn’t have the strength right now. The most important factor is time. He settles for slinging Luffy’s arm over his shoulders and carrying him as best and fast he can on his back without hurting him further.

It’s going to be a long walk back to the ship, made all the longer and more precarious by the burning debris that constantly litters their path. Usopp steps as carefully and quickly as he can muster.

_It’ll be okay. We’re going to make it. I’ll get you to safety Luffy, just hold on a little longer._

Usopp knows Luffy’s losing more blood with each step. He tries not to think about how different carrying Luffy on his back like this feels from earlier just today, when he was tackle-hugged from behind amidst his captain’s excitement over the pirate festival. Usopp can feel his teeth grinding, the taste of blood losing its sting. Luffy had been so excited. The way his face had lit up and how he’d smiled that smile of his that was literal sunlight…

 _You weren’t strong enough to protect him_. _If you’d at least been as strong as anyone else in the crew, he wouldn’t have gotten hurt._

Usopp kicks the thoughts away with such force the dry ground beneath him partially cracks. He represses a wince as a stone pierces his unprotected foot. He continues walking. _We’re not going there today,_ he tells himself. Mind over matter, always.

The thunderous rumbling of Bullet’s massive footsteps shake the ground, nearly throwing Usopp off balance. The mountain-like form of their enemy dominates the skyline far enough away not to cause them any more trouble for now. Luffy’s breath rasps quietly in his ear, a good sign, a small indicator that his captain is still alive, if less lively than usual.

“Did you see that, Luffy?” Usopp’s voice is gentle—be from injury or a different reason— as he attempts his otherwise normal banter. “He ran away! The bastard got one good look at me and fled in terror.”

The ground continues to pierce through his bare foot. A soft breeze stings at his burns. His head pounds to the point his vision blurs in and out of focus. He grimaces.

“I say he’s not worth it,” Usopp says. He laughs softly to himself through the pain, unsure if it’s out of some sort of bitterness or if his injuries are starting to make him delirious. Maybe both. “I let him go for today.” Totally how it went down.

He struggles another step when an upturned stone catches his foot. Unable to purchase steady footing, he topples hard to the ground, Luffy’s limp body being flung about a metre from him. A pool of blood forms around his captain once again, injury further stressed from the fall.

Usopp can feel his optimism dissipating like sand through his fingers. He grits his teeth. He can’t put up this front forever.

“Please Luffy…” he begs, desperate to bar off the darkness of despair knocking at his walls, “don’t die!”

Luffy remains silent and Usopp can sense his dear friend’s life gradually ebbing away.

“You’ve gotta stand up again,” he pleads, “it can’t end here.”

They’ve all come so far, way too far for it to end like this. There’s so many adventures left in front of them. There’s so many more moments he wants to share with Luffy.

“Our journey isn’t over!”

The burning building to their adjacent crackles and a flaming wooden plank drops, Luffy’s defenceless form in its threatening path.

“You think I’m giving up?!” Usopp yells into the smouldering darkness, questioning any higher power that may be out there watching. He throws himself to his feet and into the trajectory of the danger. “Not a chance!”

The burning plank collides heavily with Usopp’s shoulder before it can bring any harm Luffy. His body, tense, doesn’t stagger.

“I won’t rest until the day that Luffy becomes King of the Pirates!”

He throws the debris aside. It lands a few meters away with a dull _thud_ , and Usopp’s knees collide with the ground in tandem. He falls forward, body past its limit.

 _Damnit._ He wills himself to move, to carry Luffy to safety. But he can’t.

Another crack, louder than the last, and Usopp barely makes out the outline of the entire front of the building now coming down to crush them both.

 _Get up,_ he urges to himself. _Come on,_ move. _Shove Luffy out of the way at least, it doesn’t matter what happens to you._

Tears form in his eyes again. He can barely even move his fingers.

Luffy’s gonna die and it’s his fault.

The chilling utterance of ‘ _Soul Solid_ ’ has a certain kind of warmth to it, and they’re both saved by the crew’s musician.

Relief fills Usopp’s tired body; Luffy’s in safe hands now, he won’t be hurt further. He also feels useless. A gaping void of shame at the pit of his stomach, threatening to swallow him whole. So very, very useless.

Chopper and Brook immediately begin fussing over Usopp rather than Luffy, and Usopp gets it. He’s not the resilient powerhouse Luffy is, and they aren’t aware of the extent of their captain’s injuries. Usopp’s always been the weakling, after all. But darn Luffy’s lost way too much blood and Usopp won’t stand for laying there and being treated while someone he loves lays dying just a meter away.

He grabs hold of Chopper’s arm as tight as he can muster.

“Forget about me, treat Luffy,” he pleads, “he lost a lot of blood back there.”

“But if I leave you-” Chopper starts.

“Chopper, _please._ ”

“Alright then.”

Chopper works quickly, faster when he discovers how badly Luffy’s hurt. Brook assists, hands delicate and precise as that of a musician.

A concoction of pain and fatigue, Usopp closes his eyes. He’s unsure of how much time passes, before he winces and feels Brook’s skeletal hand wrap around his own. The musician hums one of his songs softly, a calming gesture he’s taken to when one of his crew are hurt or sick.

“Luffy?” he asks, squinting his good eye open, head thumping as light enters. Too bright.

“Luffy will be okay, he just needs to rest,” says Chopper as he commences treating Usopp.

Usopp closes his eyes again and a short amount of time passes as the other two talk. Something about a head injury. Yeah, that sounds about right. Brook says something in a gentle tone, and before Usopp knows it the skeleton is lifting him onto his back and carrying him to safety.

He’s so tired. Through a half-lidded eye, he gazes across at Luffy, carefully carried by Chopper’s hulking form. He can’t allow himself to drift off. He needs to know Luffy’s okay, Luffy needs to be okay.

As the minutes pass by, he can feel Luffy regaining consciousness, bouncing back from his injuries at a rate Usopp can barely fathom. A feeling of relief settles momentarily when he hears Luffy’s voice, soft at it is, speak to Chopper. He can tell by a subtle change in Brook’s movement, the skeleton is relieved too. Then the guilt comes spilling back.

Luffy and Chopper exchange some words, Usopp vaguely feels his captain’s eyes on him. A few more words. They’re talking about him.

They come to a stop, and had Usopp not already be accustomed to Luffy’s incredible endurance and ability to bounce back (he’s rubber, after all), he would be shocked to hear him request to be put back down, instructing the others to return to Sunny while he undoubtedly returns to his fight with Bullet.

And all Usopp can do is lay here, incapacitated, as his still-injured captain plans on returning to a battle that nearly killed him. Even more useless than before. He’s weak. Far too weak. This is an inseparable part of him, after all. Ever since he was born. It’s all he’s ever been and he doesn’t know how to be anything else.

Surely it’s just by fluke that he’s made it this far at all. He should have been left behind at Water 7 and even then he was lucky to have made it that far. Why should anyone stick around for someone as weak and useless as him?

 _Not even your own father stuck around for you_.

Usopp pushes that one _way_ way down, into the deepest darkest abyss where it belongs.

But that doesn’t keep everything else at bay.

“Luffy…” Usopp coughs. He struggles in Brook’s hold to let the musician know he wants to be let down to the ground. Brook complies, and he and Chopper kneel next to him, tentative to his every move as though he’s made of glass. Might as well be, with the ease to which he was defeated. “Luffy… he utters once again, afraid his captain hadn’t heard him the first time.

“Hey,” Luffy says, “thanks for saving me back there.”

 _Thanks?!_ The voice in Usopp’s mind repeats in disbelief. _Luffy’s thanking you after how useless you were? He’s just trying to protect your feelings. In the end he’s the one who needs to protect you, as always._

“Just hold on a little bit longer,” Luffy says.

Usopp can’t take it any longer. “I’m sorry!”

He can feel Luffy’s eyes on him, bearing into him with a piercing, perceptive gaze.

“Every time, when it really matters I’m useless,” anguish bleeds out of him like a leaking, damaged hull. Useless. “I’m not strong enough at all.”

Now the tears are coming, fast. He hadn’t meant to break down like this, but hey it’s happening now. Turns out we _are_ going there today after all.

“I just…”

Repressed memories bubble up like too much pressure in a steam engine, about to blow. _They should have left you behind. They wouldn’t have been the first. You should have just gone down with the Merry._

“I don’t even deserve to be on your crew!”

It stings, worse than any of his wounds. But in this moment it feels so true, so logical.

“I’m so sorry, Luffy…” he can’t stop crying. “I tried…”

The last of his strength leaves him and his arms give out, sending him back into the dirt.

Chopper and Brook clamour over him, concerned now for more than just his physical wellbeing. Of course he just had to go and make them worry too, didn’t he?

“It’s okay,” Chopper tells him, doing his best to sound simultaneously authoritative and soothing. “That’s enough. Don’t push yourself any further.”

Usopp tries to continue talking, but anything he says just comes out an unintelligible mess. _Pathetic._

“Chopper, take care of him for me,” he hears Luffy say, voice nearing uncharacteristic levels of calm.

“You’re going?” Chopper asks.

“We haven’t lost yet, okay Usopp?” Luffy says. “So instead of being sorry, hold out for a victory.”

Through his tears, Usopp briefly senses fury from his captain—not aimed at himself—and determination. And then he’s gone. Chopper and Brook shield him from the rush of wind and gravel that follows as their captain launches himself toward their enemy, and he lets go.

He doesn’t know how long he’s out for, but when he comes to he’s being carried on Brook’s back again as he and Chopper continue to the ship. A shift in the air has brought him to his senses. They watch as Bullet’s large robotic exterior – his gigantic metal form seems to have been stripped away, thanks to Luffy – is overpowered by a surge of large green vines and torn apart, releasing Bullet from his impenetrable armour.

A small amount of satisfaction surfaces through Usopp’s state of self-loathing.

“Those are my green star snake fireworks,” he explains as Chopper and Brook watch on, “they’re set off by a strong impact.” He smiles despite himself and closes his eyes again. “Snipers are here for support, after all.”

…

Usopp awakens again later on the Thousand Sunny. Calm seas tell him that the island is some way behind them. He can hear Brook playing the violin somewhere out on deck, as well as Zoro and Sanji’s bickering.

Chopper fusses over him endlessly before allowing any of the rest of the crew to visit, informing him of the extent of his injuries and advising him on the recovery process. He then jumps up into Usopp’s lap and gives him a hug. ‘We were so worried about you’, ‘please be nicer to yourself’, ‘you can talk to me about anything. I’m a doctor,’ are among the statements the reindeer says to him. Usopp hugs him back and informs him again and again that he’ll be okay, but he’s not sure how convincing he comes across.

“How’s Luffy?” he asks.

As though on cue, his rubber captain practically cannonballs through the door of the ship’s infirmary, causing Chopper to rouse on him for his rowdiness.

“Sorry,” Luffy apologizes lightly, grinning wide as he waves a hand. Usopp notices that Luffy too has a wrapping of bandages around his upper arms and across his chest, though much lighter-duty than his own.

Chopper glances between the pair. “You both need to rest,” he says, doctor’s voice authoritative. “You too, Luffy. I’ll go and see if Sanji can make some soup.”

“Sounds great!” Luffy says, ever enthusiastic over food.

Chopper smiles at them, giving them one last look as he leaves.

_Ah._

The reindeer’s a lot more perceptive than most people give him credit, Usopp realises.

Luffy seats himself opposite Usopp on the bed.

“Hey,” Usopp says tentatively.

“Hey,” says Luffy.

They sit in silence a moment.

“How do you feel?” Luffy asks.

“Sore,” Usopp responds. “That Bullet guy really did a fast number on me. Feels like even my bruises have bruises. And my stomach hurts a whole lot too! That’s something they don’t tell you about this kind of thing, you get into a huge fight and then spend ages sleeping and don’t eat a thing in that time, so then you’re really hungry on top of everything else but you know everything will be better after a meal. I’m sure you can relate.”

“You know what I mean,” Luffy responds.

Usopp swallows. Another person more perceptive than they were given credit. “I-” he glances up. “I’m really glad you’re okay. You scared me back there. Are… _are_ you okay?”

“I’m okay thanks to you,” Luffy nods. “Chopper and Brook told me what happened. You protected me. You got me to safety.”

Usopp meets Luffy’s genuine and glowing gaze for just a moment and withdraws. “I was too weak,” he says. “I got cut down so quickly. If I were stronger… I could have protected you better. You might not have been hurt at all! Luffy…” he grasps at the fabric of his pant legs. “I’m sorry.”

Damnit. Now he’s sitting with his feelings everything’s resurfacing again. He puts his head down and bites the inside of his lip.

“You’re not weak, Usopp,” Luffy says. “A lot of strong guys got cut down by him right after you. You didn’t give up.”

“But-”

“And you know why we were able to defeat him in the end, huh?” Luffy continues, “those plant things of yours! Did you see how they tore his machine apart? All the strong guys who were fighting him were trying to get through his armour for ages and couldn’t! But then when your vines were activated they went all,” he extends his arms and makes a funny waving motion, “and suddenly he was out and we could defeat him!” He brings his arms back in and peers up at Usopp, eyes wide in something like admiration. “No one could have done it without you.”

“Right,” Usopp says, recalling the moment and glad it wasn’t just something he’d wishfully dreamed up. “Knowing that definitely makes me feel a bit better. But I still…” he tightens his grip as a thought enters his mind, “that just means I have further to fall next time I’m useless, right?”

Luffy gazes at him with a look that seems to pierce right through his soul.

Usopp glances back, but can’t quite look him in the eye. Instead he focuses in on smaller details. The slightly frayed seam line along Luffy’s orange singlet. The gentle wave of his hair. The light dusting of freckles across his face. He can’t help but wonder what Luffy sees in someone like him.

“I know this is something that runs deep for you,” Luffy eventually says. “Even without those huge plants, there’s not many people out there who could do what you did and still think they’re useless. It would be impressive, if it were a good thing.”

Usopp shifts in discomfort. But what is he, if not useless? He doesn’t know how to be anything else _._ He can’t—there’s no way he can just change something so intrinsically ingrained in him.

“You say stuff about yourself sometimes that’s not very nice,” Luffy continues, “in fact if anyone else said that about you, I’d kick their ass.”

 _‘I don’t even deserve to be on your crew!’_ the words ring in his memory, bitter and distraught on his tongue, fouler than the taste of blood and bile, and threatening to take away every good memory he’s built with this family of his over the past few years. He thought he’d cried out all the tears he could earlier on, on the battlefield, but apparently not.

“Do you know how boring this adventure would be without you?” Luffy ponders. “I don’t want a boring adventure like that. It wouldn’t even be an adventure!”

That’s what finally does it. Usopp exhales a shaking breath and reaches for his captain, his friend, and hugs him, desperation and orange fabric in his clenched fists as he cries for the second time in the past day.

Luffy hugs him back. Genuine, warm, and all-encompassing. Like sunlight.

So bright Usopp feels as though it’s entering his spirit, contagious in the best kind of way.

“Your place is here, okay?” Luffy says. “Don’t you know how important you are to me?”

Usopp tries to reply, but it’s a garbled, unintelligible string of almost-words.

Luffy laughs a little and hugs him tighter. “Thought so.”

…

Later that afternoon (“by the way Luffy, they’re called ‘green star snake fireworks’, not ‘plant things’”), after Usopp’s been given the OK to leave the infirmary (“just as long as he sits still and doesn’t do anything stupid”) and has been warmly greeted by his nakama, Luffy proudly announces to the crew that he did indeed smash the eternal pose to Laugh Tale.

“You did what?!”

The reactions from the crew are priceless, their hype and hysteria broken only by the sound of Usopp’s laugh.

“Well that’s no surprise,” the sniper says, grinning in pride. “Like Luffy would have it any other way.”

Luffy catches his eye and they share a smile. Understanding.

“Seems crazy, but okay,” says Sanji.

Luffy smiles wide. “If we took a short cut, who knows what we’d miss out on? There’s all sorts of amazing adventures out there, and I want to share it all with you guys.”

Their captain’s words are so true, and Usopp can’t wait;

Their journey isn’t over.

He’s come a long way in the past couple of years, and knows he has a long way to go yet. Certain issues and feelings will surface and resurface again over the years, but right now, in this moment, he is happy. And as he looks around at this crew who he loves so dearly, and who all love him, in this moment he knows that maybe, just maybe, he’s exactly who he needs to be.

**Author's Note:**

> Its been literal years since I wrote for One Piece but I rewatched Stampede last week and had to write this asdfg time to return to the sea.  
> Did my best to keep them in character and sorry like the part where they actually talk is a relatively small portion of the fic, and then its mostly Luffy doing the talking, but I guess Usopp gets most of what he thinks/feels out of his system in the earlier/canon (? if you can call it that, I mean part that's actually in the movie) part of the fic and Luffy's just responding to All That.
> 
> I mostly watch the sub but the 'canon' parts of the dialogue were taken from the dub since the Japanese version on my computer doesn't have subtitles so I just changed to eng dub, and y'know what the dub ain't that bad at all.
> 
> I hope the characterisation came across okay, but its 1am now and I am rambling so I'm gonna go sleep thanks for reading, bye.
> 
> my twt is @usoapp_ and my tumblr is @usoapp so yell at me there bc I wanna write more op fics again yay


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